Neverlander: Wonderlander
by t.j.guard
Summary: Bae, Morraine, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, and Tinker Bell are now trapped in Wonderland with no apparent exit and a cloud of mysterious origin and purpose. Can they survive what comes?
1. Gaining Bearings

Neverlander: Wonderlander

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time, Rufio, or whatever else I use.  
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Gaining Bearings

Baelfire immediately knew that the only way out was in, as ironic as it sounded. He asked the captain if he knew anyone who might be able to offer assistance, and Peter immediately offered up a name: March. "Strange name," Bae said.

"It's a hare," Peter said flatly, reminding Bae of the cheshire cat.

"Still, it's a strange name."

"Where is he?" Hook asked.

"I don't know. Somewhere in the forest," Peter replied.

"So how do we find him?" Bae asked.

"Don't ask me."

"Someone else have a plan, because as far as I can tell, we're doomed," Rufio said.

"The mushrooms are houses," Hook said, "or they can be."

"What?" Bae asked, but Hook was already wandering off into the forest. The rest of the group caught up to him before they lost sight of him, which would've been before he was three feet from them, so thick was the fog. They wandered for almost an hour before coming upon a blue, speckled mushroom the size of a tree.

"Here it is," Hook said.

"Okay, I think I can see it now," Bae replied, taking in the door and windows carved into the stalk. The thing even had glass for its panes. Hook opened the door and let the group in. Almost a score of people, as they numbered at that moment, could fit comfortably in the living area. Bae was having trouble recovering the pieces of his blown mind.

Hook studied the area and for a moment wondered why nothing was taken by the soldiers. "How do you know they're not going to find us here?" Morraine asked.

"Actually, I don't," Hook replied. "I can guess, though, that they have to patch up the hole our good friends tore in the border."

"It seems to me that all of their citizens are soldiers. Surely managing such issues as this should be easy."

"She's panicking," Bae said. "That is, if you can call it that."

"Why should she panic?" Tinker Bell asked.

"She? Who's she?" Morraine asked.

"The Queen of Hearts."

"We got away," Hook added.

"Well, I know that, but isn't this a bit much?"

"I shot a man in the middle of his condenza."

"You're your own case."

"Is he?" Peter asked. All eyes turned to him. "He's more fey than I am. What makes him less other than me?"

Tink and Bae looked at each other, each asking the other with their eyes to explain this to the boy. Finally, Bae took a deep breath and said, "We know a halfie. Her name is Jesse. She's quite sane, by our standards, but her mother is a fey and she was considerably less so."

"Bearing this in mind, it can be concluded that something in your mind that inhibits fey behavior is either deficient or lacking," Hook said frankly, though it wasn't lost on either Bae or Peter that he failed to maintain eye contact with his son. Peter blinked. "Do you understand?" Hook asked after a moment.

"Is something missing?" he asked.

"One can look at it that way, yes."

"Can we find it and put it back?"

"Not in the way you think, Peter. It can be accounted for and its absence adapted to, but typically these things can't be put away like marbles or toys."

"Oh," Peter said softly.

"Peter's insanity aside," Bae said, "how do we get out of Wonderland with our heads on our shoulders?"

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin chewed his lip. He'd been ruminating over the cloud on the horizon for almost half an hour, and Belle had noticed. She now stood beside him, staring at the same place he was but struggling to comprehend the significance. Finally, she asked, "Is it bad?"

"Very, very bad," he replied.

"What are we going to do?"

"You mean what are the Charmings going to do?"

"As long as someone can do something, it should be done. It doesn't much matter who or what."

"Sometimes it does."

"You can do anything, remember?"

Rumpelstiltskin smiled sadly to himself and turned his eyes toward the box on the shelf on the mantle. "I remember," he said.

She followed his gaze again. "What's in there?"

"Pieces."

"Of what?"

"An heirloom from bygone days. It was broken, and I can't put it back together. And I have no inclination to."

"But you picked up the pieces and put them all in a box together."

"Yes."

"Why?"

He turned toward her. "Because it represents my life."

She nodded. "I guess that makes sense." He smiled, and they both looked back at the cloud.


	2. Flight

Flight

After Bae's inquiry, Hook peered out the window at the fog. He'd been studying it for several minutes now when Peter and Tinker Bell flanked him at the window. She wrapped her fingers around the base of his hook. Peter stared ahead. His mind felt stranger than when he first met March the hare. He wondered if this was what normal felt like.

"What if we flew?" Peter asked.

"To get out of here?" Hook asked in reply.

"If we get high enough, we can clear the fog."

"But that won't stop the queen," Tink said.

"Why do we need to stop her? Can't we leave that to someone else? Robin Hood only asked for a way to get out."

"For simplicity's sake, let's take matters one at a time," Hook said to Tink.

"Okay," she said reluctantly.

"So we all fly out of here to somewhere safe," Peter said.

"Pallorwall's too close," Hook replied.

"Marshaltown?"

"If we go to a harbor town, they'll know, because they'll suspect it," Tink said. "What about the greenwood?"

"Of course," Bae said behind them. They turned to face him. "That is, if the others agree to it."

"Do you even need to ask?" Morraine asked, giving him a half-smile.

"I should for the others."

"Well, yes."

"But?"

"But that's after we get out of here."

"Oh, phew. You had me scared for a minute. I thought it was something serious." They shared a laugh over this.

"So are we flying out of here or what?" Peter asked.

"Yes, let's," Bae replied. "The longer we stay, the more likely we die."

Tink walked out of the living room to seek out the Lost Boys, and only minutes later, when the whole group was gathered together, they filed out of the mushroom. Tink stepped out in front and sprinkled dust over them. "Okay, pick a happy thought to go with the dust. You don't really need it, but it helps keep you bouyant. Once you've got your thought, let's go." And she flew off. Peter, the Lost Boys, and Captain Hook were close behind her. Bae and Morraine looked at each other.

"Um," he said.

"I think it works like this," she replied, taking his hand. She was already drifting off the ground.

"Oh." For a brief moment, he was carried along by her, but soon, he was floating beside her. From there it was a quick matter to figure out how to follow the others.

OUAT

The group condensed into something of a circle as they flew along, and Bae couldn't help but study the fog that rolled over Wonderland and almost engulfed the border soldiers. Maybe it was for effect, he wondered, designed to discourage anyone who thought to cross the border, as if the Soldiers' Barricade wasn't enough. But then, the Merry Men had managed to, by sheer willpower and the element of surprise, puncture the Barricade and force their way in.

But there was another matter to consider, which Tinker Bell attended to, unbeknownst to Bae: why did it take the fog so long to roll in? They were fugitives for two days before anyone noticed it, and the first person to do so was Robin Hood the sensitive. He was probably looking for it, now that she thought about it. He felt it before, which made her wonder how she hadn't felt anything. Hook never said a word, if he felt it, and so help her if she tried to get an answer out of Peter Pan.

Hook, Tinker Bell, Bae, Morraine, Rufio, and Slightly were all pondering the future: What would happen if this fog spread? Who was behind it? What was its purpose? Did it contain someone? If so, was it the Queen of Hearts? None of them could account for her whereabouts for the past two days, but they were in no position to. Nothing could be ruled out.

Rufio had another matter to consider: Peter Pan seemed more and more sane as time passed. He wanted to believe that the boy was recovering, but he always thought that was impossible. Somebody didn't get over craziness the way Peter had it just like that, unless freeing Neverland really did induce a break in the boy's mind that made him question his state of mind and move around in a haze.

Then why did he seem sane now?

"Because insanity is the fashion here," Peter said, as if he read Rufio's thoughts. "It's okay."

"Oh. Does it help?" Rufio replied.

Peter nodded. "Yeah."

"Whatever works."

They lapsed into a silence both found suitable and flew on.

OUAT

Besides more practical matters, Tinker Bell questioned another aspect of her future during the flight, one that managed to attract Hook's notice. He flew up to her and lay his hook hand gently on her shoulder. "What is it?" he whispered.

"You're good."

"Thank you."

"Did you notice how easy I was with the dust earlier?"

"Yes. You always seem easy with it."

"Easier this time, trust me."

"I do, completely."

"That means my wings are starting to grow back, and that means I'll be small soon, a fairy again. And that means I won't be able to see you again, because I'll be forced to go back up there." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she lay her head on his shoulder. "I don't know what I'm going to do," she whispered.

"What did Rumpelstiltskin say to you in Pallorwall?" he asked.

"He asked...if I would stay with you."

"What did you say?"

"'Without a second thought.'"

"Then that's all you need to know."

"That's what he said. I...I don't know if I can make that choice, though, or if I had it. I don't know if I'm strong enough."

"That's what I'm here for."

"And I love you for it."

"I love you, too, Miss Bell."

"I'm so afraid."

He squeezed her gently. "That's pefectly fine. I would be, too."

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "You wouldn't be scared."

"I would be if I thought I was going to lose you forever. Is that not part of the choice you face?"

"Yeah."

"That's something I'd be afraid of, too."

She relaxed a little and snaked her arm around his waist. "We've gotta take this one step at a time, though. I don't wanna deal with all that right now."

"It's alright, it's alright," he whispered. She squeezed him back.


	3. Trying to Find Shelter

Trying to Find Shelter

It was near midnight when the group landed safely in the forest. Bae and Morraine led the Lost Boys, Hook, and Tinker Bell down a path leading to the greenwood tree. But it wasn't long before he sensed something dreadfully wrong.

He just didn't know what until they reached their destination.

The clearing around the greenwood was some parts burnt and some parts torn straight from the earth. Scattered about were playing cards and various weapons, not any Bae recognized, though, except from Wonderland.

But what wasn't there was equally telling. Scores of bows and hundreds of arrows were missing, as were a chest of clothes and other odds and ends and a chest containing the band's stolen money. Bae rushed forward, grabbed the nearest bladed weapon, and drove it deep into the heart of the first tree he reached. He tore it out and was about to go for the greenwood when Morraine stepped forward and grabbed him by the arm.

Bae had stopped and was slowly lowering his hand. The knife slipped from his grasp and landed harmlessly in what was left of the grass. "They were here," he rasped.

"Listen to yourself," she said in an equally harsh voice. "You used to pride yourself on being different from your father."

He turned toward her. In his eyes burned a fire she didn't recognize. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Certainly not finish what they started."

"What, then?"

"We keep going, find somewhere safe."

"And if they find us there?"

"Bae, don't think like this. I wouldn't be if I were you and you knew exactly where I was thinking of."

Bae began to breathe deeply, and his shoulders relaxed. "Papa," he mouthed.

"Exactly." Morraine turned to the rest of the group. "Change of plans. We can't stay here."

"Where to next, then?" Rufio asked.

Bae turned his gaze to a path leading off the clearing to the southeast. "You're not going to be frightened, are you?"

"Depends on what you say next."

"The safest place for us now is the Dark Castle."

Hook and Tinker Bell glanced at each other. She noticed a hint of fear or nervousness in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as they looked back at Bae. "Guess we better go," she said. "They know where this place is, and if we stay, we could die." Bae nodded and led the way down the path.

"I take it you and Rumpelstiltskin have a little history," Tink said. "Don't think I didn't notice."

"I'm perfectly fine with the conversation you had with him, but any further interaction on my part makes me nervous."

"Can I ask why?"

"Let's just say we go way back."

Tink nodded in understanding and stepped over a bush in the path. "Well, I guess it's none of my business."

"It could be."

"If we get married or something?"

He pursed his lips. "Maybe sooner."

"It's okay, I really shouldn't be asking."

"You're alright."

"Okay, this is getting kind of awkward."

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

"Let's put our heads together," Tink said. "Here's what we know: a fog has consumed Wonderland and obsucred parts of the Human Wall, some Wonderland men have ransacked and nearly destroyed the greenwood, the remaining Merry Men could be anywhere, it's too dangerous to go back to Pallorwall for our nearly finished ship, and we're all fugitives from the Queen of Hearts."

"As to the last, will we be legally recognized as such?"

"Regina never recognized the Queen of Hearts, and Snow and Charming probably won't. If they've heard of her, it would only be by that title, though. It's not a legal recognition."

"A lot of our problems can therefore be solved with one person: the queen in question."

"We beat her, we win the war, all is forgiven, and the Merry Men can rebuild."

"I see how that works."

"So we regroup, strategize, amass an army, and get going."

"You think that'll work? You said it yourself: it seems all citizens of Wonderland are soldiers."

"They're soldiers alright. It just depends on the side. By the way, she said that." Tink gestured to Morraine.

"Regardless, the bit should be considered."

"Of course it should. Generally, Merry Men make tactical sense."

"Generally, but sometimes not."

"Well, it's the best we've got right now."

"Then it's what we work with."

Hook ducked under a limb, and the couple fell into a comfortable silence.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted, but it seemed to him that sleep would come with nightmares about Bae, so he avoided it wherever and whenever possible. But even he couldn't fight the occasional doze, from which he always awoke with a start. After the latest of these episodes, he decided to walk of his sleep by perusing the castle.

He spotted a movement on the other side of a window in the main hall, and almost immediately afterward, he was out the door and some feet down the path. Several silhouettes appeared in the twilight, one of which was immediately recognizable. He rushed forward and pulled his son into his arms. "Good gods, Bae, you must be exhausted," he whispered.

"You're one to talk," the boy replied. "You look positively haggard."

"I've been worried sick. I thought you'd never get out of there."

Bae chuckled. "If they don't send my body home, you can safely assume there is none."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Bae laughed again. "I'm not going down without a fight. Ever."

Rumpelstiltskin squeezed his son and after a long moment released him. "I see you brought friends." He peered at Hook and then moved toward him. "I didn't recognize you for a moment. You're not wearing a dead man's coat."

"I didn't recognize you. You're not wearing a potato sack," Hook replied. Tink wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried.

"You two know each other?" Bae asked.

"What's the matter?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, turning toward Bae with a grin on his face. "Never thought of your old man having a life?"

"Well..."

"You can be honest."

"Actually I haven't. All I remember is everyone laughing at you or fearing you."

"Hold on a sec," Tink said. "How do you two know each other?"

Hook and Rumpelstiltskin looked at each other. Bae felt something that sent a shiver up his spine, but he couldn't place it. For a long moment, no one dared to utter a word. "As I said," Hook finally said, "we go way back."

"So, what're you all doing here in the middle of the night?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"They found the greenwood," Morraine said, as Bae had become speechless, "and they destroyed it."

"Oh. Well, in that case, do come in." He took up a position behind the group and began to usher them to the castle. At one point, he touched Hook's shoulder and received a harsh recoil for it. No one commented.


	4. Fathers and Sons

Fathers and Sons

Baelfire paced back and forth across his room. His hands shook and his lips trembled, but he couldn't do or say anything but try to work off his rage in the most constructive way possible: exercise. He couldn't shoot, as that would be too focused, and he couldn't go back into the forest, as that would be too dangerous from a tactical standpoint. So he was stuck with pacing, and it was failing miserably.

Finally, he collapsed onto the bed with an angry yell and struggled to control his breathing.

And try as he might, a solution to his problem evaded his clouded mind.

Someone knocked on his door. "What?" he snapped.

Rumpelstiltskin slipped inside but hung by the door. "Do you want to tell me about what happened?" he asked.

Bae took a ragged breath. His shaking was getting worse. Rumpelstiltskin walked over and lay his hand on his son's forehead. The fire in Bae's heart faded, replaced in his eyes by an anguish that broke his father's heart. Slowly he knelt at the side of Bae's bed, and he kissed the boy's brow. "Papa," Bae whispered.

"It's okay. I'm right here, Baelfire. I'm right here." Bae rolled onto his side and positioned his father's hand so that it was between the boy's cheek and the bedclothes. Both of his hands were wrapped around Rumpelstiltskin's wrist. "Bae, Bae, what's wrong?"

"It feels like everything is."

"How so, my boy?"

Bae closed his eyes and turned his head toward his father's hand. "They attacked the greenwood." His voice cracked, and his hands started to shake again. "Why?" he pleaded. Rumpelstiltskin kissed his son again, and Bae curled toward his father. He found himself once again in his father's arms, dimly listening to Rumpelstiltskin's words of solace.

After a long while, Rumpelstiltskin fell silent, content in his efforts to soothe his son through touch. When Bae finally reduced himself to tears, Rumpelstiltskin squeezed his son firmly. "We didn't even know they existed," Bae finally said. "Why would they do this?"

"Well, Bae, I don't know. Maybe they know about you and your band and believe you to be a legitimate military threat, so they attacked."

Bae pulled away and wiped his eyes. "Alright, that makes sense."

Rumpelstiltskin smoothed Bae's hair. "Do you feel better?"

"A little."

"Want to go for a walk with me, like we did in Storybrooke? We can talk about anything you want."

"Can we just stay here?"

"Alright."

Bae leaned into his father, who held him silently.

OUAT

Hook paused in his walk. The corridor to either side of him was perfectly silent, which amplified his surprise when Peter appeared next to him. "Oh...hello," Hook managed.

"Hello," Peter said flatly. "What're you doing here?"

"Walking. You?"

"Same."

"So, how are you?"

"That's such a vague question. Everyone asks it, and I hate the responses even more. 'Fine.' 'Good.' They tell me nothing."

"Would you feel better if I asked you if you feel less crazy?"

"I would."

"Do you?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't know. It feels so...weird. I guess weird is the right word for it."

"Do you have nightmares or hallucinations?"

"You always know these things."

"Only when I need to."

"But you ask anyway."

"Of course. It's good form."

"Yes," he said after a pause. "I hallucinate, and what I see tries to kill me."

"What do you see?"

"A crocodile and the Lost Boys. They like to attack me."

"So I take it you're afraid?" Peter nodded. "Did you experience this much in Wonderland?"

He nodded again. "Until I learned that it was okay in Wonderland to be crazy. That helped a little."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad."

Peter blinked at Hook. "You think so?"

"I know so."

Peter tilted his head to one side and then wrapped his arms around Hook's torso. Hook blinked and stared down at him, and he gingerly put his arms around the boy.


	5. Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

Both moments were interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle pulling in to a stop. Where Peter pressed himself closer to his father, Bae jerked himself free and ran toward the front door. "Bae," Rumpelstiltskin called. "How do you know that's who you think it is?"

"Who else do you know that owns something that sounds like that?" Bae asked, turning to his father. He completed his circle and continued to the door.

"Hey, have you seen-oh, hey, kid," August said when Bae threw the door open. "I heard you got kidnapped and needed a way out, so I brought the bike and decided I'd instill shock and awe into whoever had you and-"

"Rescue me."

"Yeah."

"What is going on out here?" Hook demanded.

"Easy," Bae said, holding his hands up between August and the captain. Rumpelstiltskin noticed that Peter was nowhere in sight.

"Look," August said, "I can just...go. I think I have the gas."

"You know what, no. I don't want anyone going anywhere right now, because I have questions and I need answers." Hook and August looked at each other.

"Alright, where do we start?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

Bae turned to his father and Hook and asked, "How do you two know each other?"

The two men looked at each other, and Hook said, "We were army buddies, back in the day."

"Didn't he leave you all to die?"

Hook chuckled. "Those blasted ogres couldn't kill me if they wanted to."

Bae made a mental note to discuss this with his father later and turned to August. "Who told you that I was kidnapped?"

"Some rabbit in a waistcoat, real fidgety sort," August replied. "Kept looking at his watch, like he was late for something. Know him?"

"I think I've heard of him."

"The White Rabbit," Hook said.

"See, he knows what's up," August said, smiling and gesturing to the captain. "Why do you think he'd care, though."

"He's a resister; there's only a handful, as I gather."

"Resister against who?"

"The Queen of Hearts," Bae said. "What else did he say?"

"Something about her doing something...wicked and drastic, I think. It was hard to tell with all the stuttering that he did."

Pieces clicked together in Bae's mind, and he turned back to the interior of the main hall. "We're missing Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Morraine, and the Lost Boys, and I've a feeling they'll wanna hear this."

OUAT

Not ten minutes had passed before everyone was gathered together just inside the front door. "The Queen of Hearts is the cloud," Bae said. It was enough to stun the entire gathering into silence.

"That's...if you ask the White Rabbit when he's calm enough to speak clearly," August added. "I hope I got it right, though, under the circumstances."

"Where is he now?" Bae asked.

"No idea."

"Alright, where are the others?"

"March and the cheshire cat could be anywhere," Hook said, "the cheshire especially."

"So the odds of being able to find them is slim and none," Rufio replied.

"Yes."

Bae felt another burst of magic, one that almost winded him and nearly knocked him off his feet. Rumpelstiltskin moved toward him, but he was on his way to the window. Morraine had followed, and Tink stood some distance behind. All eyes were on the northwest.

The cloud that was once stationary was barrelling outward.

"So," Tink began, "what the hell do we do now?"


	6. Preparation for Engagement

Preparation for Engagement

"Well, that's a good question," Bae said. He braced himself against the window frame and was already trying to figure out exactly what the cloud was doing.

"Got anything, kid?" August asked.

Bae relaxed, pressping his forehead against the window and trying to steady his breathing. He turned his back tot he scene outside and replied, "I think she's looking for us."

"You think?" Rufio repeated.

"You try functioning with a pounding headache," Peter snapped.

"That's enough," Bae said, straightening. "We can't fight each other when we're under attack, because that's what they want, almost inevitably. The Queen of Hearts is looking, most likely for us, so we need a plan, and we need to work together for whatever plan we come up with to work."

"So what is our plan?" Tink asked.

"First things first, if they find that bike, they'll want it."

"Already on it," August said as he left the hall.

"Next thing, who here would consider themselves a magical genius?" Tink and Rumpelstiltskin both raised their hands. "Do either of you know anything about this cloud that we can work with?"

"It'll have to condense at sme point," Tink replied. "She can't keep that form forever."

"How long?"

"The way this is going right now, she has another few days, a week at most."

"Where will she be then?"

She shrugged. "No way to tell."

"After she reappears in...wherever, then what?" August asked from his position next to his bike at front of the door.

"Then we'll need numbers, which means we'll have to find the other Merry Men," Bae said.

"It's a bit late. Don't you think you should rest?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"I'd like to, but that to me is a waste of time that we can't afford."

"You're going to have to at some point."

"Yes...but not right now."

"Okay, Merry Men, how do we find them?" Tink asked.

"Yes, of course," Rumpelstiltskin said. "This way, please."

OUAT

"Where are we going again?" Tuck asked, plodding along behind his companion.

"Trust me," Jesse replied. "This'll work."

"What'll work?"

She stopped and turned to face him. "If that thing is what I think it is, then we're going to need a lot of help, and this is the only way we're gonna get it."

"We number a hundred and fifty."

"Against forty thousand? You do the math on your own on that one. Now, come on." She turned and continued on.

Tuck sighed and said, "Still not sure how this is gonna help," but he followed anyway.

"As I said, trust me," she called without looking back.

They walked on for another half hour before, for a reason Tuck didn't at first realize, Jesse pulled up a sheet of ice in midair. "What?" she asked.

"Jesse, Tuck? Where're the others?" Bae asked. Both he and Rumpelstiltskin could be seen in the pane.

"No idea. Just us on this road."

"Where're you going?"

"You're gonna need a lot of back-up, and we're going to get it."

"Are you sure that'll work?"

"Yep."

"Makes one of us," Tuck said.

"I thought you two trusted each other," Bae replied.

"He's just lazy," Jesse said. "And a little faithless."

"Hey, I'm standing right here," Tuck snapped.

"Any news?"

"We have a few days and then she disappears off the face of the realm," Bae said.

"Sounds dangerous," Tuck said.

"I love the smell of deadlines in the morning," Jesse added.

"Suppose we should let you go, then," Bae said. "Good luck."

"Good luck to you, too."

Bae pulled back, and Jesse let the pane fall and shatter on the permafrost. "Wait, what are we going through with?"

"There's someone we need to talk to. Robin Hood recommended him in the event of an emergency, like this one. He can get us what we need."

"Who is this person?"

"You'll see."

"I wanna know what I'm getting into first."

"The score is Robin's to settle. You can relax."

"Still."

"He told me not to tell you his name."

"So it's a secret?"

"Kinda."

"Oh, okay. Will I recognize him?"

"Probably."

Jesse stopped Tuck at the edge of a snowy clearing and raised her bow. She stared down the arrow shaft at a tree just opposite her, and she fired. The arrow sang as it struck its mark. As the note died down, a black cloud drifted across the clearing. Tuck was about to say something, but Jesse held up a hand to silence him. The cloud formed a column about the height of a man, and a robed figure appeared. Its head was bowed.

Jesse nodded to Tuck and stepped into the clearing. "So, you got the message," she said.

"I've been listening the whole time," the figure said, lifting his head.


	7. Preparation for Engagement Part Two

Preparation for Engagement Part Two

"Okay, now what?" August asked when Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire returned to the main hall.

"I doubt the others will be so easily found," Bae replied.

"Those you did find, what were they doing?" Morraine asked.

"Seeking reinforcements." She nodded. Both had the same expression in their eyes.

"So what do we do now? Wait?" Rufio asked.

"Actually, we get in touch with the royal family," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "We plead our case, and they'll help us, hopefully."

"Alright, deal-making genius, you do it," Hook said. Several others looked at him. "What? Someone's gotta stay here and watch the fort, and I'm sure that now you can take care of yourself."

"Well, then, if you insist..." Hook glared at him, and Rumpelstiltskin all but ran out the front door.

OUAT

"So, Bae, how do your father and Hook know each other?" Belle asked. The sun was now well above the horizon, and the cloud hadn't reached the Dark Castle yet, or much of the rest of the Enchanted Forest, either, for that matter.

"I don't know," Bae replied. "According to the captain, they were military buddies, so whatever happened between them happened before I was born."

"So you don't know?"

"I've never heard of it until last night. I was just as surprised as all but two of them present, the two being the parties involved."

"Alright." Belle picked up an arrow from the quiver beside her and nocked it, aiming at the make-shift target cut into a large tree in the back garden. She loosed it before speaking again. "You're a sensitive, yes?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel, now that the knife is broken, that we might be able to have a relationship without his losing his powers?"

"So you seek a compromise between your seemingly-conflicting desires?"

"Yes."

"I can't be sure, but I'll tell you this: I can reasonably conclude that my father will be the last true Dark One to exist. I don't know if this makes him immortal and forever powerful, if not to the same extent as previously, but it would certainly be interesting to find out."

"So you believe I should experiment?"

"Perhaps, but ease into it. I don't want this falling apart on a suggestion from me or a whim of yours, but I doubt it. In case you haven't noticed, it looks a little like he's waiting for you to try."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I do."

She blushed and looked away for a moment. When she met his gaze again, she asked, "Will you be happy with me as a stepmother?"

"I've never had a mother, so who can I compare you to?"

"Still, will you be happy?"

"It's not much a matter of myself anymore, but you and my father and the family you'll have together."

"You'll be part of it. He just can't let you go."

"Personally I like you."

She smiled. "Thank you." Something rustled at the wall enclosing the garden, and Bae shot at it almost without looking. It fell without further ruckus. "I wish I could be that good."

"With me around, within the year, you will be," Bae said with a smile. "Your consistency is much improved."

"Thank you."

She and Bae both nocked arrows and shot at the same time. Both arrows landed in the center circle. He smiled. "Now that's cool."

"You pick that up from August?"

"How'd you know?"

"He talks like that."

"Yes, I did, to answer your question."

"What else did you learn from him?"

"How to ride that thing in the main hall, the motorcycle."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah." He studied another arrow for a moment and then nocked it. When fired, it split his previous arrow almost completely in half. Belle made an attempt to do the same but managed only to land an arrow close to her previous shot. "That's good, that's very good. But try not to focus on splitting your previous shot. It's better if you don't because arrows are expensive. And you're more likely to split the arrow if you aim for the center rather than the nock, or so I've heard."

"Oh, of course. Thanks."

"Absolutely. That's what we're here for."

They both nocked shots for another round.

OUAT

"Who is this guy?" Tuck asked.

"Shh..." Jesse said, stepping toward the hooded figure. "So you know who we are," she said to him.

"Yes," he replied, "as much as I need to. You are the boy's messengers, and I assume you're here with your true arrow to ask my aid on his behalf."

"Yes."

"So the problem you face is such that you do require the assistance of a spirit such as myself."

"Spirit?" Tuck asked.

"Shut up," Jesse snapped through her teeth. "Can you do it?" she asked the figure.

"I have no choice. I struck a deal with the boy."

"So when can we expect you?"

"When it gets most desperate, just like he said. Those are the terms."

Jesse nodded and held her hand out to the figure. "A pleasure," she said. "Nice to know where someone stands for once." He shook her hand and smiled. His head was now fully straight. Both Jesse and Tuck recognized his eyes. He stumbled back into the forest, but she merely said, "Good seeing you, Zoso," before turning and walking back into the forest.

"Frickin' Zoso?" Tuck asked in a harsh whisper. "Have you lost your mind?"

"This isn't my deal. It's Robin Hood's. We're just messengers." She walked past him, forcing him to follow.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin appeared out of his purple smoke in the courtyard of the royal palace and said to the nearest guard, "I'm here to speek to the Charmings."

"Yes, of course. This way please," the guard said quickly, and he led Rumpelstiltskin inside and up to the family's chambers. He merely said Rumpelstiltskin's name in announcement, and Rumpelstiltskin was promptly allowed entrance.

"What is it?" the prince asked, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but, uh, there's a cloud of vicious queen coming our way," Rumpelstiltskin said with his famous smile.

"Are you here to negotiate?" Snow asked tentatively, looking askance at the imp.

"I'm here because we need all hands on deck, as it were. We're about to be attacked by thousands of soldiers from Wonderland."

"How do you know this?" Charming asked.

"I know almost everything."

"What do we do now?" Snow asked.

"Prepare yourselves for war."


	8. In the Interim

In the Interim

The group gathered in the main hall for Rumpelstiltskin's reappearance, and August was the first to ask for news. "Did they agree to it?"

"After a fashion," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

"In a plain fashion," Bae said.

"Yes. They agreed to it."

"Alright," he said softly. "So the wheels are in motion."

"Indeed they are."

"May I have a word with you, in private?"

"Of course." They walked off down a narrow hall, and as soon as both were certain they were out of earshot, Rumpelstiltskin asked, "What is it, Bae?"

"I want to know about Hook," Bae replied. "He said you were army buddies. Is that true?"

"Yes. It was during the Ogre War, before you were born and they lowered the age requirement for soldiers and started conscripting children. We were in a unit together."

"Is this when you ran?"

"Yes. Bear in mind, my boy, that this was before he lost his hand, way before he became captain of a crew of pirates. He...he was furious with me when he caught up with me."

"Didn't they all die?"

"Hook is a halfie. His mother was fey. And on top of that, he could hold more than his own in any sort of fight. Still can, I reckon."

"Proceed."

"He finally caught up with me in the forest. I was a little over ten miles from the village, almost home. He drew a blade and tried to kill me, telling me constantly how disgusted he was with me. It was his blade that destroyed the tendons in my knee and crippled me for life."

"Not an enemy blow, which started you running in the first place?"

"No blow started me running, Baelfire. I was just too terrified of dying."

Bae nodded in understanding. "And I gather by his demeanor that he hasn't gotten over what you've done?"

"Doesn't seem that way."

Bae nodded again and threw his arms around Rumpelstiltskin's neck. Rumpelstiltskin held his son firmly and buried his face in his son's neck. "You're still my father, and I love you," Baelfire whispered.

"I love you, too, my son," Rumpelstiltskin replied. He released a breath and then added, "Oh, so very much."

Bae closed his eyes and adjusted the position of his hands. "Papa, don't leave me," he whispered.

"Never, Bae. Never."

OUAT

Peter watched this episode to its conclusion and then turned away and wandered down a corridor. He remembered feeling a vague sadness, but he could only recall a shadow of the emotion when he pondered it.

The sudden burst of activity over, he had nothing left to busy his mind with. He feared an episode, but at the same time, he waited for it.

But no episode came. Peter was left with nothing to think on but what he had seen transpire between Rumpelstiltskin and his son. He wondered if he could be so lucky, but something in him doubted his prospects.

"I wondered where you got off to," Hook said. Peter stopped and turned in one movement, over-spun, and almost stumbled into a column on which was a vase of flowers.

"I was just...walking around," Peter said when he recovered himself.

"Be careful. I don't want you to leave the castle. It's not safe out there."

"We can't stay here forever."

"I know, my boy, but until we have a plan and people in place, we don't have much choice."

"So what do we do?"

"I'm not entirely sure."

"It would be so much easier if we knew who we were dealing with."

"Yes, it would."

Hook chuckled softly, but Peter blinked and repeated his words to himself. "Wait, that's it." Peter ran down the corridor before Hook could utter a syllable, but the elder followed anyway.

"Peter? What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna see what I can find," he said. He waved for a window at the end of the hall to open, and he took off. Hook reached the windowsill almost a minute later, leaned out, and stared at his son as he shrank to a speck in the sky and then disappeared. Hook leaned back and sighed. Oh, Peter Pan, he thought.

OUAT

Peter flew over the Enchanted Forest, keeping the Black Forest to his side and scanning the cloud. The person who created it was certainly a little off-kilter, but Peter also sensed an agenda somewhere below the surface, and the agenda was deeply personal, at least, so Peter had guessed.

He banked toward the castle, where the bulk of the cloud seemed to be going. What was at the castle that the Queen of Hearts wanted? he wondered.

The cloud was only a little way beyond the Black Forest, and the castle the Charmings lived in was still a long way off. He landed in the forest some thirty feet in front of the cloud. There he waited and watched.

OUAT

Tinker Bell leaned against the wall next to Hook and watched him watch the sky. She smiled as she studied his profile, and finally he looked at her. "He flew out," he said.

"To do what?" she asked.

"To figure out what the Queen of Hearts is up to."

"Because he thinks it'll help?"

"Yes."

She nodded and pursed her lips. "So, word on the grapevine is that you and Rumpelstiltskin had a falling-out a long while back."

"Yes."

"Can you tell me about it?"

Hook sighed and closed his eyes. "He left me for dead."

"During your army days?"

"It was a long, long time ago. I had just stopped aging and enlisted in the army. I had also met the age requirements of the time. I was placed in a unit with Rumpelstiltskin, and we were sent out to the Ogre War. He fled, and we had to face them alone. Most of us died, and the Ogre War continued for years after that, until the Dark One rescued the child-soldiers and ended the war, as the story goes."

"And I take it you found out at some point that the Dark One and Rumpelstiltskin had at some point become one and the same?"

Hook clenched his fist and let out a harsh breath. "Yes," he growled.

"What're you so angry about if he came back later and stopped the war?"

"He became a monster." It was becoming more and more of an effort to keep his anger out of his voice.

"Wasn't the Dark One before him a monster, too? I kinda think part of it comes with the curse, and maybe the rest depends on how desperate the new Dark One is, for whatever reason."

He took several deep breaths, and she noticed that his arms were shaking. He stood and walked back down the hall, and she asked herself, "Too much?"

He stopped and turned slowly to face her. "Don't you ever blame yourself," he said softly. "You've nothing to do with this." He continued along his path, and she watched him, chewing her lip.

OUAT

Morraine sat on the table, facing Bae, in his father's chair. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Why do you ask?" she replied.

"You're smiling that smile that always indicates that you're thinking something particularly amusing to you."

"I was thinking about how much you look like your father used to, without the limp and more muscular, but facially very similar." His eyes darkened. "I gather you think about how much you sometimes act like he does now."

"Yes," he said softly.

"You're still the sixteenth Robin Hood, and one of the best we've had. You have your values still, and a strong sense of justice. You're still a good man, and you're still the one I love."

"Would I be if I..."

"I'd never give up on you, just like you never gave up on your father."

He smiled, but she hopped off the table and lay her hands on his shoulders. She kissed him and then buried her face in his neck. "You may be like your father, but you're also your own person," she said. "I love you, not the person think you are." He wrapped his arms around her, and she sat on his lap.

"You amaze me," he whispered.


	9. On the Move

On the Move

The cloud crept closer to Peter, and he continued hopping from clearing to clearing trying to keep up with it. He noticed that the inhabitants of several nearby villages had, for all intents and purposes, dropped what they were doing and fled, most of the time with only the clothes on their backs. Sometimes he would take up residence in one of these abandoned buildings as he tracked the cloud's progress in an effort to figure out what the Queen of Hearts was up to. Thus far, he hadn't seen or heard of the woman in question outside of the cloud form she had assumed several days ago.

But she couldn't be a cloud forever. Tink said so, and despite what side she took, he could almost always trust her judgement. She always seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. So he expected to see the Queen at some point in the near future. He gave her a day or so.

Once this interval passed, Peter checked his progress. The castle on the horizon had a discernable outline but was several days' journey off. The cloud became heavier and denser. Peter finally stopped in a town on the river, clearly a merchant town by its features: harbor, clearly defined market place, many well-to-do homes, et cetera.

The cloud disappeared at the edge of the town, and a woman fell out of it. Peter recognized her at once and said, "Tired, are you?" She struggled to prop herself up on her elbows, revealing and slightly tugging on the heavy red veil that covered her face.

"What do you want?" she growled in a raspy voice.

"I'm just following you, trying to see where you're going and what you're up to."

"You work...for them."

"I'm not your subject. I can work for whoever I want, even myself."

She struggled to her feet, and he could feel her glaring at him even though he couldn't see her eyes. Peter looked toward the hill he just left, and then he flew off.

OUAT

"Hey, hey, hey," August said, walking into the main hall. "Am I late for the party?" Bae and Morraine sat on the table, next to Belle and Rumpelstiltskin on one side and Rufio and a couple Lost Boys on the other. The rest of the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell, and Captain Hook lingered at various places around the table.

"Not as much as Peter," Rufio said. Peter had yet to return from his mission.

"Well, guess it's not too bad, then."

"Someone mention me?" Peter asked from the window facing the northwest.

"Oh, there you are," Bae said. "Any news?"

"She finally fell out of form, and she can talk, believe it or not. Her voice is really raspy, though. I wonder what happened to it."

"How far did she get?" Belle asked.

"Not very. The farthest we got, the castle was still several days distant."

Bae slid off the table. "Where is she?" he asked.

"In a river town. I can show you, if you want."

Hook walked to the window and looked in the direction Peter had come from, almost due west. He looked back at the crowd and said, "It's Alna, I'd reckon." He looked particularly at Tinker Bell. "Is she ready, you think?"

"Should be," Tink replied.

"Who?" Bae asked.

"What, actually," Hook replied.

"You realize we'll have to gather them all together, and I hope you also realize what a gamble this is," Tink said to the captain.

"It's the best we have, unless Rumpelstiltskin can convince the Charmings to set troops on their own river town."

"For the record, I believe I can," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"And what else are you going to do, bring the soldiers home behind you?"

Bae, as if sensing Hook's barely-concealed hostility, stepped between them. "That's enough. I don't care about how badly you two had it during the war. I don't care who left who for dead or cut through who's knee and crippled them for life. Right now we need our numbers, because we're up against an evil we can hardly comprehend, who can muster enough soldiers to stand shoulder to shoulder and serve as her borders, and more to maintain domestic security. We do whatever we have to do." Bae lowered his hands. "Find your ship," he said to Hook, "and Papa, let's see if we can keep up talks with the royal family," he said to Rumpelstiltskin. Both parties nodded. Rumpelstiltskin disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Tink and Hook flew out the window.

"What do we do?" Morraine asked.

"Set out to find the Merry Men. Perhaps our friends the Lost Boys would like to help us?"

After a huddle amongst the boys in question, Rufio and Slightly nodded. "We'll do it," Rufio said.

"Then let's go."

OUAT

Jesse stopped Tuck as they passed the border into the Enchanted Forest proper. "What?" he asked.

"Shh, something's up," she replied. "The cloud's gone."

"What?"

"She fell out of form. She's human now, and stuck wherever she decided to dump herself."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"The Queen of Hearts. Haven't you been paying attention?"

"Didn't know you expected me to, Your Highness." This earned Tuck a solid punch to the nose, which nearly knocked him out.

"Don't you ever call me that again."

"Okay, okay."

"Don't give me that. I want your word."

Tuck straightened and held up his right hand. "Fey's honor," he said solemnly.

"Great. Now, let's go."

"Jesse, Tuck," Bae said to their side. He was with Morraine and some boys the two didn't recognize. "I assume it went well."

"Reasonably," Jesse replied. "Any news?"

"The Queen's in a place called Alna. The captain recognizes it. It's some town on a river, that way." Bae pointed to the west.

"Any word on the others?"

"Not yet."

"Then I guess we set out."

"You haven't heard anything, either, I gather."

"Nope."

Bae and Morraine fell into step beside Jesse and Tuck, and the Lost Boys followed behind them.

OUAT

"She's not finished yet," the foreman said. "The fighting tops and sails still need to be attached."

"We can do that in flight," Tink replied.

"Flight?"

"Long story. Is the rest of her fit to go?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"That's all we need right now. The rest we can take care of later."

"But-"

"Not another word," she said, drawing Hook's gun on the man. "We'll handle her, and trust me when I say it'll be done well." The man nodded and ran off. Tink returned the gun to Hook, and they continued to the ship. As per the instructions Hook gave upon entering Pallorwall, his entire crew was gathered at the pier.

"Aboard," Hook called, "and prepare for a fight. String up the sails and set us at full canvas." The crew boarded, and Tink sprinkled the ship with dust. "Her maiden voyage," he said wistfully. "Typically this happens after a christening."

Some crewmembers returned for the sails rolled up at the edge of the construction site. "It's a practical concern," she replied. "Right now it's all about getting a large number of people to a small town as quickly as possible. And that means we have to board as soon as possible." With that, Tink walked up the gangplank and onto the deck. Hook was close behind her.

Michael set a course for Alna, and sailors fastened the canvas to the masts and let the sails fall and catch the wind. The ship known informally as the _Sweet Freedom_ drifted up and over Pallorwall.

OUAT

"So, where are the other Merry Men?" Rufio asked.

"Good question," Bae replied. "We may have to resort to shooting things at random and seeing what responds."

"What can we shoot at? Trees?"

"Bushes, shrubs, brambles, birds, game, need I go on?"

"We can probably scratch birds and game from the list, though, since they'll respond anyway," Morraine added. "So that leaves plant life."

"And since that sounds like a waste of arrows, we'll need something...else." Bae stopped. Morraine pulled him aside.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"The signal," he replied.

"It means we'll all converge at the greenwood, and it's not safe there."

"It is, for a moment. We meet there and move on to Alna."

"Do you think that'll work?"

"It'll have to."

"What about bike dude?" Rufio asked.

"Crap. I'll find him. Morraine, you'll have to signal and lead for as long as it takes me to find August and bring him to Alna."

"Alright," she said with a brisk nod, and on that note, Bae ran off. "Follow me," she called. The group set out again.

OUAT

Bae burst into the main hall and looked about urgently for August, who he found leaning against his bike. "Good, you're still here," he said.

"Yeah, why?" August asked.

"We need you."

"You need me?"

"Yes. We need you safe and sound, out of enemy hands. We need you on our side, every step of the way."

"How come I have the feeling you're talking about yourself?"

"I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay. Whaddaya need me to do?"

"Come with me, and take the bike, so both of you can be safe."

"You do realize the bike's an it, right?"

"Excuse me for thinking of it as a steed."

"Well, best get on. And hang on tight. I like to go fast." Bae broke into a grin and all but ran to the bike and climbed on behind August. August adjusted the strap on his helmet and rode out through the front door.


	10. March on Alna

March on Alna

"Care to tell me where I'm going?" August asked.

"Due east, to a town called Alna," Bae replied. "That is, if we're not met by soldiers first."

"What makes you say...oh." Glinting through the foliage were the uniforms of a phalanx of Wonderland soldiers. August put on the brakes. "Now what?"

"Switch places with me. I know the way."

August dismounted, and Bae slid into the front seat. August climbed on behind him, and Bae eased the bike into motion. He followed a forest path and wove through trees and underbrush. He kept the soldiers to his right but didn't dare take his eyes off the path for more than a moment at a time, with long intervals between glances. It took Bae a moment, but he started to speed up. Several soldiers noticed and shot, but he maneuvered the bike so that they missed. "Hold on tight," Bae said. "I wanna go fast."

"Ha, ha, yeah," August cried, wrapping his arms around Bae's shoulders. Bae sped the bike up.

He wove through the forest, ever west in a slightly roundabout fashion. Once he made a pass at the soldiers, barely missing their left line, and they launched themselves after him. He sped up. "This is going to get ugly," he said, "so keep hanging on, and do feel free to pray for me."

"Can do, kid."

Bae threw a glance over his shoulder at the phalanx they left behind, and when he looked back, another appeared right in front of him. He revved the engine and then launched them through the ranks of soldiers. Several of the men they hit turned instantly into playing cards which Bae ignored and which August attempted to brush off every time he found himself covered in them.

They passed through that phalanx relatively unscathed, save a few paper cuts on Bae's end, and faced rolling hills and open grassland. Bae could see for miles around, and at in the distance, he spotted several more phalanxes. "How many of them are there?" August asked.

"I don't know, but we have the advantage," Bae replied, adjusting his course to the west. In the sky he spotted a flying pirate ship. "I think we're not the only ones."

"Are they on our side?" August asked.

"It's Hook and Tinker Bell, by the look and feel of it."

"Okay, takin' that as a yes."

"We're following them. They know where to go."

"Well, kid, as long as you're a hundred percent positive."

"Yes, I am. Thank you for your faith in me."

"No problem."

OUAT

Tink leaned against the railing on the port side of the ship, bracing herself against the renewed stabbing pain in her back. This wave gone, she took a deep breath and made for the captain's quarters. Hook was puzzling over a map, occasionally marking it with his pen. It was several moments after she entered that he looked up. "Hello," he said. After a moment, he stood, walked around his desk, and folded her into his arms.

"The pains started again," she said. "Jas, we always talked like we had a choice."

"Why is that so wrong?"

"Because it's not true."

"Is it?"

"I had my wings clipped, Jas," she said, pulling away. "That usually means they're going to grow back and I'm going to be a fairy again."

"If I recall correctly, you initiated the conversation on the subject with the intention that you would be able to choose whether or not you'd want that life back."

She nodded. "Probably pretty stupid."

"Unless you actually hold out the hope."

"Still probably pretty stupid."

"Actually no. You would hold onto the hope if you had a good reason to do so, yes?"

"Where're you going with this."

"I think our thinking was correct all along."

"Well, I'd really like to know how. It's not like I'm going to fall from grace or anything."

"So you do know a way."

"Yeah, I...I renounce my fairy powers and be mortal." She paused. "Maybe we are on to something."

"Can you do it, though? I see in your eyes that you question yourself."

"Jas, I told you I'd stay without a second thought, but I'm afraid."

"As is natural for all such choices."

"Alna ho!" a mate shouted. The cry passed through the crew like a wildfire, but by then, both Hook and Tink were at the prow. The river town in question was some miles distant, and below them were ranks of soldiers and what looked like two figures on a motorcycle, so Tink and Hook had guessed from their time in the real world. Hook ordered the anchor dropped and the crew to arms, and he watched the people below for some moments.

The bike circled around the anchor and toward the soldiers, boring a hole through the first phalanx it encountered and reducing many of the enemy's men to playing cards. "Down we go," Hook said. The crew filed to the rope of the anchor and slid down it. Hook and Tink were the last to go. They could now see Baelfire on the bike, and they nodded to him. Hook gave a small salute, which Bae reciprocated.

Bae glanced at the hills surrounding himself, August, the pirates, and the enemy. Two groups of green-clad figures appeared on both sides, one led by Jesse and Tuck and the other by Morraine. He could feel, if he focused on it, Zoso in the distance. There was no sign of Rumpelstiltskin, and when asked about it by the captain, Bae merely shrugged and said, "Not a clue."

"Some things never change," Hook replied.

"I thought we discussed this. We can't fight each other in the face of a common enemy, or we have no resources to deal with said enemy, and personally, I'm getting kind of sick of it, so I really wish you'd shut up." August gave an appreciative, awed whistle and leaned back slightly. The phalanx they had nearly destroyed was replaced by a new one.

"Let's hope he listens to you."

Bae smiled at the familiar magic in the vicinity, and it wasn't a moment before Rumpelstiltskin appeared and asked, "Why wouldn't I? I admit I'm a little ahead of the others, but I'm here, aren't I?"

"How long will they be?" Bae asked.

"A few days."

"Alright." Bae studied the ranks in front of them and then those on his side of No Man's Land. They were outnumbered, and Bae had no idea on the regenerative properties of soldiers made of cards, but already he could sense their wariness at the strange steed he and August rode.

"Now what?" August asked.

"We lead a charge," Bae replied.

"You realize we don't have a wing and a prayer, right?"

"Don't need either." He glanced at Hook, who gave a curt nod, and he revved the bike engine.


	11. The Battle of Alna

The Battle of Alna

Morraine could see Jesse and Tuck across the valley, and as soon as the metal steed carrying Bae and August rushed forward, followed by the crew of the floating ship above the hills, she led the Merry Men under her command to rush from the side.

Jesse saw this action on Morraine's part and did the same thing from her end.

The resulting sight looked something like a mouse cornered by three cats, even though in this case the mouse started it.

Rumpelstiltskin, a bit at a loss in the scene, managed to stay close to Bae as a cloud of purple smoke and assist him in his quest to render the soldiers as harmless as possible.

August felt around for a knife, which he found on Bae's person, and used it to slice at the men who rushed them from the side. The three of them lapsed into a dynamic in which Rumpelstiltskin was on one side, August's weapon on the other, and Baelfire himself plowing ahead through the ranks.

Behind this weapon and moving not nearly as quickly was the crew of the fallen _Jolly Roger_, brandishing guns, cutlasses, and other weapons as part of the odd assortment gathered from their new ship. Among the clashes of metal on metal were flashes of pixie dust and the firing of arrows from both sides.

Someone took a swipe at Tinker Bell, who ducked, grabbed the spear, and drove it deep into the chest of her attacker. She felt something behind her but failed to turn before she was struck in the center of her back by the force. In a rage, she wheeled on her attacker, none other than the Queen of Hearts. She let out a cry and swiped at the woman. The Queen ducked, barely avoiding the point of the spear as a lethal weapon, but it tore at her veil and ripped it off in its entirety.

A soldier approached from behind to recieve a blow from the butt of the spear before Tink returned her attention to the pale, brown-haired woman before her. The woman was young, perhaps as young-looking as Regina, and had a terrible scar along her neck. Tink guessed that was the reason the woman hardly ever spoke. But her eyes did all the talking for her: she was speechless for an entirely different reason.

Tink broke eye contact and rejoined the fight, relieving some of the burden on the captain, but the fact that the woman stumbled back in an effort to retreat was not lost on her.

In fact, the woman stumbled right into one of the Lost Boys, who immediately alerted Rufio and Slightly. Peter came, too, out of curiosity. "The Queen of Hearts, I presume," Rufio said, folding his arms and staring down at her. She merely stared.

At one point, Bae turned into a wide U and rode back the way they had come. Rumpelstiltskin partially materialized out of the smoke and asked, "Now what?"

"We'll see," Bae replied.

"Think we can hold 'em off?"

"It's worth the effort."

They reached the front line, but before they could make any judgement about the state of affairs, Bae felt himself tumbling through the air. August managed to stop the bike from his position, and Rumpelstiltskin was already on his way to where Bae was now suspended almost a foot and a half above the grass.

Belle grabbed a bow and arrow from the nearest Merry Man, ignored his protests, and pushed her way forward. By the time she reached the scene in question, the arrow was already nocked and she had already taken aim. "Put the boy down," she said to the woman suspending Bae. The woman turned her gaze toward Belle, daring her with her eyes to follow through on her threat. When it became clear to the Queen that Belle would do no such thing, she smirked and squeezed her fingers together. Bae gasped, his limbs almost curling behind him.

Rumpelstiltskin took a step toward the Queen. "No," Belle said, gesturing to stop him with the weapon before retraining it on the woman. She took a deep breath and checked her aim before loosing the arrow. It struck the woman in the breast, missing her heart but wounding her enough to force her to release the boy nonetheless.

Belle tossed the weapon aside and began to fuss over Bae, failing to notice that Rumpelstiltskin produced a knife and approached the wounded woman. "Hello, dearie," he hissed, and they disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Belle helped Bae into a standing position and asked, "Are you alright?" He nodded and looked around.

"Great," he said. "Papa's disappeared again. Don't even want to think about what he's doing right now."

"He's doing it for you, just like everything else."

"Let me guess, he told you that."

"Yes, he did." Bae nodded and tried to take a step. His head swam, and Belle moved to catch him. He put his hands to his head, only releasing it a moment after he steadied himself. He looked around and took a few deep breaths. Several enemy soldiers were trying to fight, but most were fleeing. He guessed they'd started when they noticed that their queen had been kidnapped.

But somehow, Bae was possessed of the feeling that this fight was far from over.


	12. Return to Storybrooke

Return to Storybrooke

Tink effortlessly landed the _Sweet Freedom_ back in Pallorwall. Sailors were finishing what work the ship needed, and arrangements for an official christening were made. On the night before the ceremony, as Tink wandered through the deserted streets of the harbor town, the Blue Fairy appeared to her. "You have a week," she said flatly.

"Unless I renounce everything I used to be," Tink replied in an identical tone.

"Do you have it in you to do that?"

"I think I do." The Blue Fairy scoffed. "I would stay with Jas without a second thought, but I doubt you've thought of that. You didn't think about Nova."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"It doesn't matter what you say or what you think, Blue, because if anyone up there is going to think about me, it's me, and I'm not going back. I guess I was a fool to be confused, but it doesn't matter now. It's not going to be worth it to be in love and not have a relationship, and I'm not that masochistic."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Tinker Bell said, feeling the power of her own words, "that I don't want that life anymore, and I'm giving it up." The pain in her back stopped at once. The Blue Fairy seemed to notice, too, judging by the look on her face. "I'm not one of yours anymore." She turned on her heel and walked back the way she had come.

OUAT

"How did it go?" Hook asked when she returned to the room.

"Better than I expected," Tink replied. "Can't believe I did that."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yeah."

"That's what matters, then."

She sat across the table from him. "I was so scared for nothing."

He smirked. "That's how these things work. You get all worked up and it turns out you have nothing to worry about." She smiled at him.

OUAT

The remarkably small scouting party of Bae and Morraine slipped inside the Black Forest with ease. She followed him as he felt his way toward the bridge to Storybrooke. "Do you think he's there?" she asked.

"It's worth a shot," he replied. "I can't tell for certain, but if he's not, we can always come back and try again."

"Are you sure you should be intervening? Perhaps he's right to kidnap her in this case."

He stopped and turned to face her. "It doesn't matter what she's done to me. Rumpelstiltskin turned a man into a snail because I accidentally injured myself once. I can't begin to fathom what he would do to someone who intentionally harmed me."

She nodded and then asked, "What about Belle?"

"I already sent Jesse."

"Alright." They continued toward the bridge.

OUAT

A car drove into the ghost town that was Storybrooke, Maine, and parked on the side of the road, facing the square. The driver, a female, leaned back and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She had been smirking off and on throughout her almost full-day drive from way out of state.

But despite her excitement at the fact that the plan was falling into place, she couldn't help but continually check on the box in the passenger's seat. It was a rather ornate box, though dark in color. It seemed to be made of green and black marble, and it was of relatively small, rectangular dimensions: small enough to hide in a drawer.

She had performed such a check on the box after she parked, and then she returned her attention to the square.

OUAT

Bae and Morraine passed through the bridge and landed in the square. They both noticed the car parked on the curb and backed up. "Alright, now what?" she asked.

"For right now, we need to run," he replied. "This feels really, really bad."

"To the forest, then." They turned to the left and walked briskly through the streets and into the forest surrounding Storybrooke. There, they broke into a run and made their way to the river. "Tell me again how you thought this was a good idea," she said.

"He brought the magic here, so I figured he would feel perfectly comfortable keeping a hostage here, as well," he replied.

"Oh, I see, that makes perfect sense."

"Yes it does, as a point of fact."

"Well we've been spotted. What's your brilliant plan now?"

"That's why we're here."

"Alright, genius, let's get started. We only have so many arrows."


End file.
